From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of words coming to
English from or via
Czech, or originating in the
Lands of the Bohemian Crown, often called
Czech lands. Words and expressions derived from the Czech language are called
Bohemisms.
-
Absurdistan (in Czech Absurdistán) – word created by
Eastern Bloc dissidents, passed into English mainly through works of
Václav Havel.
- Dollar – from Czech tolar (taler), a silver coin used in Czechia since the 15th century.
-
háček – a
diacritical mark, literally "little hook", e.g. č is letter c having háček. Also known as "caron".
-
howitzer – from houfnice, a 15th-century
Hussite catapult; houf meaning crowd or band
-
kolache – from koláč or koláček.
- koczwarism –
Sexual asphyxiophilia in medical slang; after
František Kočvara
-
pistol – from píšťala, a 15th-century Hussite firearm (alternative sources have been suggested, see the article for details)
-
polka – from Polák or polský, a Czech dance named in remembrance of the
November Uprising of 1830; or from Půlka, in English half because of its tempo
-
pram – from Czech prám, a flatbottomed boat, through Dutch praam and Middle Dutch praem
[1]
-
robot – from Czech robot (machine resembling a human being), introduced in
Karel Čapek's play
R.U.R. from the 1920s.
-
Semtex – a plastic explosive named after Semtín, part of the city of
Pardubice,
Czech Republic, location of its manufacturer.
- Slivovice (Slivovitz), plumb brandy – from Czech (more precisely,
Moravian) word slíva (plumb)
Sometimes it is mistakenly claimed
hocus-pocus has Czech origin since pokus means trial (attempt) or
experiment.
References
See also
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